Conventional ultrasound imaging systems used in a clinical setting are presently operated as standalone instruments, typically dedicated to diagnostic image acquisition. In this mode of operation, the ultrasound imaging system is normally used for a short period of time to diagnose a patient. The ultrasound imaging system is also a focused diagnostic system monitoring a particular pathology. An exception to this usage is the use of the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) probe in operating room environments for monitoring of cardiac activity during the duration of surgical procedures under active observation by clinical observers. TEE is a test that allows a cardiologist to view images of the internal structures of the heart and the heart""s major vessel by inserting an ultrasound probe down the patient""s throat or nose. For example, the patient is evaluated for atrial thrombi using the TEE probe.
However, although the TEE test may be four to six hours in duration, the heart is not monitored during the entire duration of the TEE test. Rather, intermittent image snapshots are obtained of the heart and the images are compared, for instance, image snapshots of the heart at pre-surgery are compared to images of the heart at post-surgery. Although, the conventional ultrasound imaging systems may be connected to a hospital""s information network, the information network is used primarily for archiving the images and not for doing any diagnostic work or patient management. Further, size and complexity of present ultrasound imaging systems preclude their present use for long term patient monitoring applications.
Modern ultrasound imaging system design is moving towards systems of radically reduced size and complexity. Additionally, increased sophistication of control algorithms in ultrasound imaging systems is rendering the ultrasound imaging systems far more capable of self-adaptation to the imagining environment presented by individual subjects. Further, advancements in the art of information extraction from the ultrasound images allow for improved automatic determination of physiological functionally from the ultrasound image data.
Thus, it is necessary to develop an ultrasound imaging enhancement unit integrated into a patient monitoring system to allow physicians to continuously monitoring physiological functions of a patient from images generated from the ultrasound imaging unit. Rather than limiting the user of the ultrasound imaging unit to diagnostic situations in an emergency room, the ultrasound imaging unit would allow monitoring of non-acute conditions of a patient, such as in intensive-care recovery situations.
In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides for an apparatus, including a patient monitoring system; and an ultrasound imaging unit integrated into the patient monitoring system continuously generating ultrasound images from a patient and continuously extracting therefrom diagnostic data.
The present invention also provides an apparatus including an apparatus, including a patient monitoring system; and a compact standalone ultrasound imaging unit connected to the patient monitoring system continuously collecting ultrasound images from a patient and processing the ultrasound images to continuously extract therefrom diagnostic data.
The present invention is also achieved by a method including: integrating an ultrasound imaging unit to a patient monitoring system; connecting the ultrasound imaging unit to a patient; continuously collecting ultrasound imaging data from the patient; processing the ultrasound imaging data to generate therefrom diagnostic data; continuously transmitting the diagnostic data using a communication channel to a person or to a remote diagnostic system at another location; and analyzing the diagnostic data and determining therefrom a medical treatment for the patient.
These together with other objects and advantages, which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.